what is recommended? Should I start applying regardless of whether or not I plan on attending grad. school? Is it likely to get offers without the extra degree and little to no experience beyond class demos?

Perhaps some of this will be answered next week at the Austin GDC, and if I get any answers, I can post here.

Not Looking because I am working there. By the way we are looking for experienced Java Programmers for work on cellular titles. No shipped games are required and it's a great opportunity to break into the industry.

I'm graduating in December '07 and recently attended GCD in Austin where I must say, it was an amazing 2 days networking and resume flier-ing. Very fun and met a lot of great people from White Wolf (and CCP), Lucas Arts, Blizzard, Adobe, EA, NCSoft, Sony... ect ^^

Also it is never to early to start looking for your job, especailly if you're graduating in the summer. Most major companies hire for the summer in the fall, so by the time spring rolls around it'll be way too late. I know the microsoft deadline is maybe a week away.

As a side note, make a website to display your resume and projects. I doesn't have to be much as long as you get your information across. Here is an example of mine... http://jasonhooten.wordpress.com.

I agree with Dominia, it can never hurt to start applying early because who knows, maybe you have something that a company is looking for. I heard at the Austin GDC that there are alot of companies currently hiring for internships and entry-level jobs, and that most of those aren't published on their sites.

Another thing I heard a lot of at the conference, which goes back to my previous post, is that degrees aren't always the only way to go; they kept reiterating that ability is the desired attribute. Degrees are nice, but they mean nothing if you can't do what they want.

Once again, Dominia was spot on with the notes about making a website. They want everything electronic if possible: put your resume out there, your demos, and whatever else you think necessary.

I am in the process of one myself, and when I'm done, hopefully I can get some critiques from forum-goers.

P.S.
Dominia, after looking at your site, your text seems to be a little small. I think it might be helpful to increase the size a little bit.

Hey! You guys are pretty spot on, and I'm glad to hear you got so much useful advice out of the Austin GDC!

I wanted to add that applying for jobs in any field also gives you more experience at simply knowing what it's like to apply for a job in your industry. If you get a phone or live interview, that's even better experience! We often don't think of going through the motions of applying for jobs as "practice," but that's precisely what it is.

Also, reading job ads before applying to maybe 10 percent of those you read gives you enormous insight into the industry. You absorb so much by just seeing how different people or companies phrase the same things.